Violent Love, Vol. 1

by Frank J. Barbiere

GOOD LOVE IS NOT SAFEDaisy Jane and Rock Bradley were two of the most notorious bank robbers in the American Southwest. And then they fell in love.Join Frank J. Barbiere (Five Ghosts, The Revisionist) and Victor Santos (Polar, The Mice Templar) for a pulp infused criminal romance oozing with style and action! Collecting issues #1-5 from the new hit series!

Violent Love, Vol. 1 Details

Violent Love, Vol. 1 Review

May 29, 2017

Chad Harmon

A throwback to the grindhouse cinema era. Reminiscent of Darwyn Cooke's Parker adaptations. Violent Love is the story of Daisy, a good girl who watches her family die in front of her and seeks revenge at all costs. The art is a stylized homage to Darwyn Cooke and Bruce Timm. Looking forward to reading more.Received an advance copy from Image and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

What initially looked like a Bonnie & Clyde riff (albeit more the shorthand than the real story) turns out, thus far at least, to be more about one young woman's quest for revenge, and the beau who just can't keep up. Victor Santos' art is the big attraction here, rendering Daisy Jane as a Darwyn Cooke beauty in a shabby Paul Pope world. But while the script isn't helped by the letterer's overuse of bold, Barbiere has definitely come a long way since the last Image work I read from him, the What initially looked like a Bonnie & Clyde riff (albeit more the shorthand than the real story) turns out, thus far at least, to be more about one young woman's quest for revenge, and the beau who just can't keep up. Victor Santos' art is the big attraction here, rendering Daisy Jane as a Darwyn Cooke beauty in a shabby Paul Pope world. But while the script isn't helped by the letterer's overuse of bold, Barbiere has definitely come a long way since the last Image work I read from him, the quite astonishingly terrible Five Ghosts.(Edelweiss ARC)

I found Frank Barbiere's Violent Love, Vol. 1 to be a fun and visually enjoyable throwback to pulp fiction without being too over-the-top with cliches and stereotypes. There are cliches and stereotypes but that is what makes it a throwback, it is not having too many that makes it fun.Like any good story this gives the reader a chance to feel some empathy for the characters even if they live and act outside of accepted norms. This first volume absolutely makes me want to read more. The artwork is I found Frank Barbiere's Violent Love, Vol. 1 to be a fun and visually enjoyable throwback to pulp fiction without being too over-the-top with cliches and stereotypes. There are cliches and stereotypes but that is what makes it a throwback, it is not having too many that makes it fun.Like any good story this gives the reader a chance to feel some empathy for the characters even if they live and act outside of accepted norms. This first volume absolutely makes me want to read more. The artwork is probably not the most innovative (I am no expert by any means) but since books are meant for readers I am qualified to talk about whether the artwork helped or hurt the story, and it definitely helped the story. Let those more schooled in the techniques critique whether they think a different style would have been better, and they may be right. But this style works very well from the perspective of a general reader.Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.

Sexy electric paced crime drama with great 70's flair and a leading lady whose story keeps me coming back for more. Writing - 3/5 maybe a little cliche at times but good pacing and a couple of intriguing twists that will bring me back for volume 2. Art - 3.5/5 a little Timm, some Cooke, some Bone and layouts that are all his own combine for good looking pages that tell the story clearly.

A young girl named Penny visits a neighbor, a friend of her mother's, who we gradually learn is a retired federal marshal. Back in the 1960s, he was involved in investigating a pair of violent killers, Daisy Jane and Rock Bradley. Penny sees some newspaper clippings he's kept, and he tells her the rest of the story.That story is most of this book, with Penny and the marshal as a frame story.Daisy Jane enters the story as a young girl as innocent as Penny, but her life is about to hit some very r A young girl named Penny visits a neighbor, a friend of her mother's, who we gradually learn is a retired federal marshal. Back in the 1960s, he was involved in investigating a pair of violent killers, Daisy Jane and Rock Bradley. Penny sees some newspaper clippings he's kept, and he tells her the rest of the story.That story is most of this book, with Penny and the marshal as a frame story.Daisy Jane enters the story as a young girl as innocent as Penny, but her life is about to hit some very rough waters.Her father, who loves her and supports all her ambitions of going to college and making something of herself, runs an auto repair garage now--but he used to be a gangster. A fortuitous car accident puts him back in tough with old associates, and he sees an easy way to make the money Daisy Jane needs to go to college. She goes happily off to UCLA, having no idea what her father is doing.When she comes home unexpectedly for a visit, she discovers her beloved dad is letting his garage be used at night to punish those who have angered the local mob boss. From there, things can only go downhill. When her own father is killed, angry with him or not, she's determined to have revenge.The story that follows is violent and fairly graphic, but also attentive to the human reality of what Daisy and those around her are experiencing, as she is transformed from an innocent girl with high ideals, into a violent killer. This is volume one, from her eager determination to go to college, through learning how to kill and being willing to. I expected not to like this because of the graphic violence, but found it surprisingly good.Recommended, with content warning for violence.I received a free electronic galley of this book, and am reviewing it voluntarily.